THE HEART BEHIND THE MOVEMENT

Sylvia Dennis-Wray was born in Perry, GA but was raised in Linden, NJ. She started her career in Corporate America and worked for major companies like Schering-Plough Healthcare, Johnson & Johnson and

Luxottica. She worked in various leadership roles within these companies. She moved back to Georgia in 2005 to become an entrepreneur and start her own restaurant business alongside her husband, Orville “Scottie” Wray.

During the planning stages, her mother Ruby

Dennis suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm and she became her caregiver.

In 2006, her mother had to have another brain surgery, and this left her with Dementia. Later that year, Sylvia and her husband opened their restaurant “Sands Island Bar & Grill” downtown McDonough and started “The McDonough Jerk Festival.” They wanted to give back to their community, so they decided that they would give back to “The Walk To End Alzheimer’s.” This was the beginning of a new direction for Sylvia.

When I chose the charity “Alzheimer’s, little did I know that I would be so involved in the organization. After being so involved in Peachtree City’s Walk To End Alzheimer’s, God directed me to start a Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers Support Group here in Henry County. That same year, God told me to start a Henry County Walk To End Alzheimer’s. When I approached the Georgia Chapter, they knew there was a need here in Henry County, so they approved for it to be a mini-walk, spinning off of the Greater Atlanta Walk and I became the walk chair. After the growth of the Henry County Walk in only two years, the Georgia Chapter made the Henry County Walk To End Alzheimer’s an official walk in 2018.

In 2018, God has just been downloading to me that I need to do more with Alzheimer’s. So, in addition to being the Event Chair of the Henry County Walk To End Alzheimer’s and Facilitator of the Alzheimer’s & Dementia Caregivers Support Group, in 2018, I was the producer of the play “Memory Laine” directed by Chris Scott and written by Camille Fitzsimmonds.

In 2019, God had more plans for Sylvia to get involved in Clayton County as well. She became the Marketing & Events Coordinator at the Alzheimer’s Services Center and started the Clayton County Alzheimer’s and Dementia Caregivers Support Group. In October 2019, she became the Executive Director at the Alzheimer’s Services Center in Clayton County. In 2020 due to COVID-19, the center temporarily closed its doors. They received a $50,000 grant from Clayton County Hud to feed the citizens of Clayton County. This project began on August 21, 2020, and we were able to feed over 2500 people. They were also a part of the USDA Farmers to Families Food Program in partnership with Melissa Ellis, CEO of Life Beyond Waters and distributed over 65,000 thousand food boxes in the Metro Atlanta area from November, 2020 through May 2021!

Sylvia holds a bachelor’s degree in Sales & Marketing and is currently working on her Master’s in Public Administration. She is the CEO & owner of SDW Marketing Firm, CoFounder of the McDonough Jerk Festival, Marketing Manager at Edgy Girl Fitness Studio, Executive Director, Alzheimer’s Services Center, and the Chapter Leader of the Clayton/DeKalb Women in Business Chapter. She’s on two Board of Directors, Home of the Brave and Living Well Adult Day Care. SDW Marketing Firm has a partnership with Holy Connection TV. She is a loving wife, has 1 daughter, 3 sons and 6 grandchildren.

THEY WANTED TO GIVE BACK TO THEIR COMMUNITY, SO THEY DECIDED THAT THEY WOULD GIVE BACK TO “THE WALK TO END ALZHEIMER’S.” THIS WAS THE BEGINNING OF A NEW DIRECTION FOR SYLVIA.